Shoreline

This week, 75 miles of Lake Michigan's coastline from the north side of Chicago to New Buffalo will gain national recognition as a trail for sea kayakers. And to celebrate on Saturday -- National Trails Day -- there will be several free, public opportunities to paddle boats or pedal bikes in northwest Indiana. The status of "national trail" could draw the interest of kayakers around the country, along with tourists, and there would be opportunities to market the natural resource, said Dan Plath, president of the Northwest Indiana Paddling Association.

LONG BEACH -- Curt Bruckner undoubtedly went back to work Monday with a harrowing story to tell but, thankfully, one with a happy ending. Divers, along with dozens of beachgoers forming a human chain, were in Lake Michigan Sunday afternoon looking for his 6-year-old son, Connor. The boy was found safe after a three-hour search. "We were very, very, very lucky," said the boy's grandmother, Joyce Bruckner. Curt Bruckner and his four children ages 11, 8, 6 and 4 were visiting his mother in Long Beach for the weekend.

LONG BEACH -- Curt Bruckner undoubtedly went back to work Monday with a harrowing story to tell but, thankfully, one with a happy ending. Divers, along with dozens of beachgoers forming a human chain, were in Lake Michigan Sunday afternoon looking for his 6-year-old son, Connor. The boy was found safe after a three-hour search. "We were very, very, very lucky," said the boy's grandmother, Joyce Bruckner. Curt Bruckner and his four children ages 11, 8, 6 and 4 were visiting his mother in Long Beach for the weekend.

LANSING -- The U.S. Senate could soon debate a proposal that would put nearly 2 million acres nationwide under permanent wilderness protection, including part of Michigan's Lake Superior shoreline. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., recently called for the bipartisan bill to be considered in a lame-duck Senate session starting Nov. 17. The bill is a compilation of more than 150 different proposals for land protection nationwide. In Michigan, 11,740 acres in the Beaver Basin area of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore would be given permanent wilderness protection.

Anyone can clean up unsightly litter left behind from summer beach celebrations. So, grab a trash bag and join in an environmental effort slated from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at New Buffalo Public Beach in New Buffalo. The annual Adopt-a-Beach Cleanup is organized by Alliance for the Great Lakes. The organization dubs its volunteer event as "part of the world's largest shoreline cleanup. " Families, friends of the beach, businesses, schools and community groups are encouraged to participate.

MICHIGAN CITY - Park at the end of California Avenue, among the homes and cottages nestled against the backside of the low dune. See the trail? Take it. Ascend to the top, past the windblown trees and swaying beach grass. Pause. Listen to wave after wave crash and die on the shore. Take in the panoramic view. Observe the stoic light, alone in the distance to the west. And to the east, the windswept beach stretching to the horizon. Satisfied? OK, descend now. Enjoy the soft, hot sand.

PETOSKEY, Mich. (AP) -- The initial results of a new study show that water near the shoreline of Bay Harbor Lake is not contaminated, the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday. The EPA said testing showed no evidence of cement kiln dust or contaminated leachate near the shoreline of the 90-acre lake, which serves as the harbor for the Bay Harbor Resort. The resort, which sprawls along five miles of shoreline between Charlevoix and Petoskey, is a gated community of multimillion-dollar mansions built on the site of a former cement plant where kiln dust, a byproduct of the cement manufacturing process, was buried.

MICHIGAN CITY -- The first Michigan City Beaches & Blueways Cleanup will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Volunteers will work to clean up and beautify the beaches and blueways surrounding the Michigan City Generating Station, at Wabash Avenue and Water Street, along with other various sites along the shoreline. The volunteer cleanup day was prompted by a recent survey of the shoreline along Trail Creek and Lake Michigan that found much debris in need of removal. Those wanting to participate in the cleanup should register at the Alliance for the Great Lakes site at www.greatlakesadopt.org or contact Dan Plath at dplath@nwipa.org.

WOLCOTTVILLE -- If you drive just half a mile down County Road 550 South from where Alvin and Ruth Lambright lived in their family home, you will run into a state-run nature preserve comprised of former Lambright land. LaGrange County is dotted by wetlands and lakes because of melting glaciers there, but the Olin Lake Nature Preserve contains the largest completely undeveloped lake in Indiana. Walking through the woods that surrounds the 100-acre lake -- which has boat access only through a channel connecting the larger Oliver Lake -- you can see fresh deer tracks on the dirt path and listen to calls from Canada geese.

MICHIGAN CITY - Park at the end of California Avenue, among the homes and cottages nestled against the backside of the low dune. See the trail? Take it. Ascend to the top, past the windblown trees and swaying beach grass. Pause. Listen to wave after wave crash and die on the shore. Take in the panoramic view. Observe the stoic light, alone in the distance to the west. And to the east, the windswept beach stretching to the horizon. Satisfied? OK, descend now. Enjoy the soft, hot sand.

MICHIGAN CITY -- The first Michigan City Beaches & Blueways Cleanup will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Volunteers will work to clean up and beautify the beaches and blueways surrounding the Michigan City Generating Station, at Wabash Avenue and Water Street, along with other various sites along the shoreline. The volunteer cleanup day was prompted by a recent survey of the shoreline along Trail Creek and Lake Michigan that found much debris in need of removal. Those wanting to participate in the cleanup should register at the Alliance for the Great Lakes site at www.greatlakesadopt.org or contact Dan Plath at dplath@nwipa.org.

This week, 75 miles of Lake Michigan's coastline from the north side of Chicago to New Buffalo will gain national recognition as a trail for sea kayakers. And to celebrate on Saturday -- National Trails Day -- there will be several free, public opportunities to paddle boats or pedal bikes in northwest Indiana. The status of "national trail" could draw the interest of kayakers around the country, along with tourists, and there would be opportunities to market the natural resource, said Dan Plath, president of the Northwest Indiana Paddling Association.

LANSING -- The U.S. Senate could soon debate a proposal that would put nearly 2 million acres nationwide under permanent wilderness protection, including part of Michigan's Lake Superior shoreline. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., recently called for the bipartisan bill to be considered in a lame-duck Senate session starting Nov. 17. The bill is a compilation of more than 150 different proposals for land protection nationwide. In Michigan, 11,740 acres in the Beaver Basin area of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore would be given permanent wilderness protection.

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. -- The city has its own weatherman, and many residents say he's one of the most accurate in the business. But hey, dude, Will Beaton had his own reasons to start forecasting shoreline weather. He wanted to make sure Lake Michigan surfers like himself have accurate information before they yell "cowabunga" to shoot curls. Now, Beaton's Grand Haven house has the appearance of a weather station. It is equipped with an anemometer for gauging wind speed, a vane that charts wind direction, a high-tech thermometer and lots of computer gear.